Grand Canyon Times

The Senate Government Committee is investigating a new rule that blocks certain qualified Arizona candidates from participating in general election debates for statewide and federal offices. This rule, which appears to have been enacted without proper legal procedure, has led the committee to seek a formal response from the Clean Elections Commission.

Committee Chairman Jake Hoffman has expressed concerns about the rule's legality. The rule requires candidates to receive at least 1% of total ballots cast in all primaries for their office to qualify for general election debates. Hoffman suggests this could unfairly prevent some political parties' candidates from participating.

Research conducted by the committee revealed that the rule was not submitted for approval to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) as required by the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act. This omission is seen as a violation of voter-approved measures from 2018.

Chairman Hoffman stated, "At best, the Clean Elections Commission seems to be creatively, yet intentionally, blocking some candidates from participating in the debate, not to mention subverting the will of the voters to require proper transparency in agency actions through the Administrative Procedures Act." He further added, "At worst, the taxpayer-funded Commission has knowingly broken the law."

The committee seeks an explanation from the Clean Elections Commission regarding why Proposition 306's intent or text was ignored.